‘It won’t be good for anyone’

A breadbasket state just endured one of its toughest Octobers, continuing a years-long trend that has left farmers and their crops in dire straits.

What’s happening?

PBS reported that Oklahoma experienced the fourth driest 30-day period in recorded history last month, with 0.4 inches of rain. This near-record is in stark contrast to how waterfalls are in the state, which typically brings cooler and wetter conditions.

Data from the US Drought Monitor shows that 52.68% of the state was experiencing some degree of drought on November 19, but a whopping 92.27% was in some form of drought as recently as October 29. Southwest Oklahoma, the state’s center for cotton production, had less than half an inch of rain in each of the past three months.

However, the lack of precipitation is one of many climate issues facing Oklahoma, as tornadoes, flash floods and plunging temperatures recently wreaked havoc on residents in some counties.

“You would love to find someone you can point the finger at and blame. But that person doesn’t exist,” said cotton farmer Harvey Schroeder. PBS.

Why is the drought in Oklahoma concerning?

These extreme and erratic weather patterns have devastated Oklahoma’s agricultural sector, which ranked in the top 10 wheat And cotton production nationally last year.

According to Oklahoma climatologist Gary McManus, the state has lost $500 million on the former and $240 million on the latter over the past two years due to extreme weatheraccording to PBS.

“We get a lot of erosion, crop damage and flooding after huge rains, as we have had after long periods of drought,” he added. “November is shaping up to be one of the craziest we’ve had in a long time.”

These declining yields have forced farmers to rely on compensation for lost crops through insurance to continue their operations. However, this source of money can only be limited and may soon dry up if insurance companies do this cancel policy or take it off completely.

“I just hope they can stay hooked,” Schroeder said of the producers he leases his land to. “If they can’t get financing or if insurance companies stop insuring, it’s not going to be good for anyone.”

The prolonged drought has also depleted local reservoirs set aside for emergencies and could permanently disrupt habitats, increasing the likelihood of this happening forest firesand throw the food supply into disarray.

What is being done about Oklahoma’s drought and poor harvests?

Experts all over the world conduct research cotton And wheat at the genetic level to breed drought-tolerant varieties. Oklahoma farmers could soon benefit from these developments, helping them maintain their livelihoods and stabilize their incomes.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma is taking a more proactive approach to rising global temperatures through its wind energy Climate Central found it ranked fourth domestically in terms of wind capacity and electricity generated from wind energy.

Sustainable forms of energy can help reduce our dependence on energy dirty energy and thus all the consequences of an overheated planet.

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